Clinics, Camps, and Leagues
Soccer Choices for the Wayland Youth Soccer Player
Are you looking for a fun activity for your child during spring or winter break? Does your soccer player show a real interest or aptitude in the sport? Do you want to keep your child off the couch during the long winter? Maybe you have a soccer background, but are unaware of the additional opportunities in the area for your child to learn the sport.
This guide is for parents wanting to know more about soccer opportunities available in and around Wayland for their child.
Please forward any feedback on this guide via the “General Feedback/Comments” link at www.waylandsoccer.org. Thank you.
WAYS Sponsored Camps and Clinics
Other local coaching and clinic organizations
There is no shortage of camps and clinics available, starting in Wayland. Most camps are geared for the recreational player. This means that while players do learn soccer skills, the main emphasis is on the children having fun playing soccer and soccer-related games.
WAYS offers the following recreational camps and clinics. Participation in these camps helps WAYS fund clinics and coaching seminars.
Supporting these camps helps Wayland Youth Soccer!
Overnight camps are available for players aged 10 and older. Some camps are recreational in nature, but many are more serious about training and skill development. Players attending the more demanding camps will learn more about the sport.
A good source of information for summer camps is the Bay Stater, a newspaper published twice a year by the Massachusetts Youth Soccer Association. The January issue contains a special listing of camps. MYSA mails this publication to all WAYS families who participate in travel soccer.
Some other New England camps with a good reputation include:
Note that most indoor facilities offer camps and clinics as well.
Club Soccer has become a very popular avenue for advanced soccer players. This option is for the competitive and motivated player who (along with his family) is willing to make more of a commitment to the sport. Club teams consist of select players from multiple towns who receive instruction from part-time, paid coaches with soccer credentials. All players must try out to join the club; try outs are usually held in June. Club teams are easiest to join at the U10 and U11 level. The May issue of the Bay Stater contains information on club soccer tryouts. The Massachusetts Youth Soccer Association mails this publication to all WAYS families who participate in travel soccer. For more information on club soccer, including how to find clubs near you, see our FAQ on club soccer.
This organization offers training and competition for advanced players, starting at U10 through U13. Full-time professional soccer coaches provide instruction. The emphasis is on training, development, and “friendly” competition- no league standings are maintained, and teams aren’t grouped into different competitive levels like club soccer. There are no league pressures on the coaches, parents, or players to win, pressures that often take the joy of the game out of young players. See www.mpsbr.com and click on the “School of Excellence” link for more information.
WAYS does not offer any team league competition during the winter, but there are indoor facilities that do, starting with first grade players on up through high school and adult players. Typically, for the youngest players (grade 1 and 2), play is very informal, as the indoor facility doesn’t keep league standings. As the players get older, league competitions are the norm. Some facilities will attempt to match single players with teams needing players, but often the best way is to hook up with a parent-coach from Wayland who is entering a team, or entering a team yourself.
There are two types of indoor soccer. The most common uses walls and netting to keep the ball in play. The second type, invented in Brasil and called Futsal, uses a standard gym court and a low bounce, easier-to-control ball.
Walled soccer is more popular with younger players just learning the game, as players simply like to kick the ball as hard as they can against the walls. Soccer professionals much prefer Futsal for developing soccer skills. Futsal encourages and rewards skill development and ball control. Futsal is the only form of indoor soccer sanctioned and approved by FIFA, the soccer body that governs international and professional play throughout the world.
While there have not been any studies comparing the relative safety of futsal and walled soccer, some feel walled soccer can be more dangerous as the children get older. Walled soccer has an additional vertical hard surface, and a playing field suggestive of a hockey rink. Players can forget that soccer is not a collision sport like hockey or American football.
Our advice is to consider walled soccer when the players are young, but by U11, strongly consider moving to Futsal. While some players will take some time to enjoy this version, their skills will improve faster and they are at less risk of serious injury than with walled soccer.